MUMBAI: South Africa star batsmen Reeza Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen’s stunning knock took the Proteas to 399/7 in the first inning against South Africa in the 20th match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Jos Buttler-led England won the toss against Aiden Markram’s South Africa and decided to field first in the game.
Quinton de Kock and Dussen opened for the Proteas squad. However, De Kock failed to display a stellar performance in the first inning and was dismissed in the second ball of the match by Reece Topley for four runs (SA 4-1).
In the first powerplay, South Africa scored 59 runs and the English bowling attack picked up just one wicket.
In the 15.6 overs, Aiden Markram’s South Africa reached the 100-run mark.
After taking an early wicket in the game, South Africa could not continue their wicket-taking form and their second wicket came in the 19.4 over after Adil Rashid took Dussen’s wicket for 60 runs from 61 balls (SA 125-2).
Adil Rashid dismissed the dangerous Hendricks in the 25.2 overs for 85 runs from 75 balls (SA 164-3).
Topley bagged an important wicket after he dismissed the Proteas skipper Aiden Markram for 42 runs in the 34.6 overs (SA 233-4).
David Miller could not start his hard-hitting performance in the first inning after Topley dismissed him for five runs in 36.3 overs (SA 243-5).
In the second powerplay, the Proteas batsmen scored 197 runs and Jos Buttler’s side picked up four wickets.
However, in the last few overs of the game, Klaasen displayed one of the most brutal shows in the tournament against England and slammed a ton just from 61 balls in the 46.4 overs. Klaasen smashed 12 fours and four sixes in the first inning.
Marco Jansen also did not leave the chance to make his half-century. Jansen scored 75 runs from 42 balls.
In the final over of the first inning, English pacer Gus Atkinson picked up two wickets and dismissed Klaasen for 109 runs in the 49.1 over. Atkinson dismissed Gerald Coetzee in the 49.5 overs.
Even though Reece Topley picked up the most wickets among his teammates he also gave away 88 runs in his 8.5-over spell. On the other hand, Atkinson and Adil Rashid bagged two wickets each in their respective spells.
Jos Buttler-led England need to make 400 runs in the run-chase inning to clinch a win in the 20th game of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Saturday. (ANI)